The present invention relates to a game system and information storage medium.
There is known a game machine in which a player can enjoy a game while viewing game images. Such a game machine may be in the form of an arcade game machine installed in an amusement facility (or game center) or a domestic game machine used in a home.
The arcade game machine can use a high-performance memory or a large capacity memory. Thus, the player can enjoy a more complicated game while viewing a more finely drawn game image. On the contrary, the arcade game machine has a housing having such a size that one person cannot carry. As a result, one must go to the amusement facility to enjoy the game.
The domestic game machine is advantageous in that one can enjoy a game in a home. However, it is difficult that the domestic game machine is carried at all times, although it can be carried more easily than the arcade game machine. Thus, the domestic game machine cannot also easily be used while moving or walking, as in the arcade game machine.
Among various game machines, there is a portable game machine having such a size that it can be placed on the human palm. In such a portable game machine, however, a player is forced to continue a game play until it reaches any suitable break-point once the game is started. It is thus substantially difficult to enjoy a game in a portable game machine while doing something other than a game, such as shopping or TV viewing, walking.
On the other hand, in the management of amusement facility, there has been raised a great problem in how more persons can be attracted to the amusement facility. In recent years, however, the performance in the domestic game machine has been highly improved. The performance of the domestic game machine generating game images becomes substantially equal to that of the arcade game machine. Therefore, it increasingly becomes difficult to attract more persons to the amusement facility under such a motivation that the arcade game machine is high-powered. A more effective strategy is accordingly desired to attract more persons to the amusement facility.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a game system and information storage medium which enables a player to enjoy a game by utilizing his or her leisure time.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a game system and information storage medium which give people an effective motivation to go to the amusement facility.
To this end, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system for a player to play a game, comprising: means for performing a game computation to advance the game according to a given game program; communication means for communicating with a portable communication terminal possessed by the player; and means for transmitting game situation information of the game advanced by the game computation to the portable communication terminal of the player through the communication means. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage medium comprising information for implementing the above-described means.
According to these aspects of the present invention, the game computation is performed according to a given game program to advance the game. There is no particular limitation, but the game computation can be implemented by a high-performance processor and a large capacity memory. Thus, the player can enjoy a more complicated game.
Moreover, the game situation information of the game advanced by the game computation is transmitted to the portable communication terminal possessed by the player. As a result, the player can easily confirm the game situation at any time and in any place, even though the player does not enter the game.
In this manner, the player can always confirm (know) the situation and advance of the game through his or her portable communication terminal even though he or she is performing any matter other than the game, in addition to that the player can enjoy the complicated game. In other words, the player can easily enjoy the game in his or her leisure time.
In the game system and information storage medium of the present invention, the game situation information may be transmitted to the portable communication terminal on condition that the player makes connection between the portable communication terminal and the game system. Thus, it can be prevented that a huge communication fee is imposed on an operator of the game system.
In the game system and information storage medium according to the present invention, the game situation information may be given to the player by a voice sound which is output from at least one of a sound output section of the portable communication terminal and a sound output section of a portable game machine to which the portable communication terminal is connected. By controlling a voice sound which gives the player the game situation information, the feel of the player can be stimulated and the effect of game presentment can be improved. Particularly, the hardware resource can more effectively be utilized by using the sound output section of the portable communication terminal.
In the game system and information storage medium according to the present invention, the game situation information may be given to the player by an image displayed on at least one of a display section of the portable communication terminal and a display section of a portable game machine to which the portable communication terminal is connected. The game situation information can be transmitted to the player in more detail, in comparison with a voice sound. Particularly, if the portable communication terminal is connectable with the portable game machine, the display section of the portable game machine which can more finely display game images than that of the portable communication terminal can effectively be utilized.
When no game operation is performed by the player by using an operating means of the game system prior to the passage of a given time period after the provision of the game situation information to the player, the game system and information storage medium according to the present invention may disadvantageously change a game condition for the player. In this case, the player who does not want to be given disadvantageously changed game condition will earlier initiate the game using the operating means of the game system. This can increase the operating rate of the game system. Note that the start and end points of a given time period can be set optionally within the scope of the present invention.
The game system and information storage medium according to the present invention may further comprise means (or information for implementing means) for receiving game instruction information transmitted by the player to the game system through the portable communication terminal, wherein the game computation is performed based on the game program and received game instruction information to advance the game according to the game instruction information. This makes it possible to transmit the game instruction information corresponding to the game situation information to the game system by means of the portable communication terminal.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a game system for a player to play a game, comprising: communication means for communicating with a portable communication terminal possessed by the player; means for receiving game instruction information transmitted by the player to the game system through the portable communication terminal; and means for performing a game computation based on a given game program and the game instruction information to advance the game according to the game instruction information. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage medium comprising information for implementing the above-described means.
According to these aspect of the present invention, the player can enjoy a complicated game, and on the other hand, the player can passively take part in a game through the portable communication terminal while the player is doing something other than the game. In other words, the player can utilize his or her leisure time to easily enjoy playing a game.
In the game system and information storage medium according to the present invention, the game instruction information which is capable of being instructed by the player may be allocated to a key or a key combination of the portable communication terminal. This makes it possible to transmit the game instruction information easily and rapidly by the portable communication terminal, and the player can more effectively utilize his or her leisure time.
In the game system and information storage medium according to the present invention, the game may continuously advanced within a game space after termination of direct game operation by the player through an operating means of the game system. This makes it possible to continuously advance the game even when the player stops the play for some reason. When the player resumes the game, it is not required to start the game from the beginning. In addition, the player can passively take part in the game by checking the game situation information or transmitting the game instruction information during suspension of the game play.